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Blues face Avalanche seeking second straight win

Feb 14, 2008 - 1:40 PM St Louis (25-22-8) at Colorado (30-22-5) 9:00 pm EST

DENVER (Ticker) - Despite their recent struggles, the St. Louis Blues appear to be on the road to recovery.

The Blues face the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday for the second time in nearly two weeks.

St. Louis snapped a four-game losing streak on Tuesday with a 4-2 triumph against the Los Angeles Kings, the worst team in the Western Conference. Martin Rucinsky led the way with a goal and an assist as the Blues improved to just 3-8-3 over their last 14 games.

The Blues face difficult competition in their next two games as the Avalanche and the Nashville Predators are both in the thick of the playoff race, currently placing seventh and sixth, respectively, in the Western Conference standings.

However, the Blues are a combined 4-2-0 against those two teams this season, despite suffering a 6-4 setback to the Avalanche on February 2.

Colorado had a two-game winning streak snapped on Tuesday, falling, 2-1, to the defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim Ducks.

Jose Theodore made 27 saves against the Ducks but suffered a rare loss after he entering Tuesday's contest with a 8-4-1 record and a 1.88 goals-against average in his last 13 games.